Debates of Sept. 16th, 2014

Opposition Motion—Federal Minimum Wage

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, as I outlined in my speech, the number of federal government employees, or the number of private sector employees across Canada who are federally regulated who make under $15 an hour are few and far between. This is a symbolic move. Again, to refer to my last answer, this is an opportunity for the Conservatives and the Prime Minister of Canada to show leadership across this country, to show leadership to the provinces, and to set the bar in terms of minimum wage.

Again, the Conservative government is failing to set the bar.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in this place representing the good people of Davenport in the great city of Toronto on an issue that is incredibly important to many workers in the city of Toronto, in fact to many workers across the country.

I have been listening with quite a lot of interest to the debate today and the nitpicking from the government side about the need for a federal minimum wage. I find it particularly interesting that I have not heard a single member of Parliament from the Conservative Toronto caucus talk about the fact that Toronto has a youth jobs crisis.

Young people are working in federally regulated industries such as the telecommunications industry and broadcasting, and many of them are making far below the proposed federal minimum wage. Many of them are working for free as unpaid interns with no protection under Canada's Labour Code against sexual harassment in the workplace, no protection around the right to refuse unsafe work, no protection in terms of the ability to cap the number of hours that an unpaid intern in a federally regulated industry can work.

Now the government is arguing that we do not need a federal minimum wage.

I am sure the hon. member across the way remembers the time when young people could graduate from high school and get a job in this country, a job that was good enough to raise a family, a job that came with a pension at the end of it, a job that they could keep for the rest of their lives. They would graduate from high school or university and get a job and keep that job.

Sometimes the government seems to think we are still in that era, those happy days. Those happy days came and they went. Today people are working from contract to contract. They are working multiple part-time jobs. Some are freelance and as it becomes more and more difficult to land a full-time job, more and more are looking to do various jobs as self-employed people to fill the gap.

To round all of this out, as I have mentioned, we have unpaid interns and we have young people graduating with record student debt as Ontario students face the highest tuition fees. Then these young people are landing in a labour market where youth unemployment is twice the national average, where they are unable to find jobs in their fields of study, and where all too often the perceived solution is to work for free.

It is worth noting in this place that there are estimates pegging the number of people working as unpaid interns. There are many good unpaid internship programs out there. However, especially in federally regulated industries, highly profitable and quite powerful Canadian companies are availing themselves of free labour from young people who are just desperate to get a toehold in the labour market.

Young workers across the country face dauntingly precarious work realities. Housing is too expensive. Post-secondary education is too expensive. Public transit is inaccessible or inadequate, and oftentimes too expensive as well. Training programs are often tied to employment insurance, but when a person is working multiple part-time jobs or on a short-term contract, he or she cannot access that training.

I have not heard a lot of talk today from members on the other side about barriers for newcomers, which are even higher. Newcomers are desperate for Canadian work experience. This is the work experience they need so that they can get the job that Canada essentially said would be available to them when we invited them to Canada. They are desperate to get that job. They will work for free as unpaid interns. They will work at a temporary placement agency where the take-home pay is oftentimes lower than the provincial minimum wage.

Workplaces are becoming fundamentally unequal. New workers, young workers, racialized immigrants, and aboriginal workers can expect much less than older workers at the same workplace. In the very same workplace, some workers have defined benefits pensions, others not. Some have extended health benefits, others not. Some have job security and others not.

When asked by The Toronto Star what the greatest issue facing Canadian workers is, Maureen O'Reilly, president of the union local representing Toronto's library workers—she is the union boss for librarians, just so they do not get too afraid over there on that side of the House—said:

Precarious work is one of the greatest challenges facing workers in [Toronto], particularly in the [library system]. Library workers are...predominantly female...with about half of them part-time. We know precarious workers make less and have limited or no benefits or pensions. We need good jobs in our community especially for our youth so that all Torontonians [and I would extend to all Canadians] can share in a bright future and contribute to our local economy as both neighbours and taxpayers.

In all the chest-thumping we hear so often from the government side of this House, the Conservatives never describe the jobs they are purportedly creating. They never talk about whether these jobs are good jobs. They never talk about whether these jobs are jobs that come with a living wage, benefits, or a pension. They never talk about whether these are jobs that a young person can imagine for starting a life, starting a career, and starting a family and becoming the kind of active, engaged citizen that only a generation ago was just the obvious thing we would become. That is not happening anymore.

SEIU's Sharleen Stewart represents hospital, long-term care, and home care workers in Canada. What she said is a very important point when we discuss what this actually means for Canadian workers. She said, “some of the people doing the most meaningful work [in Canada] are the lowest paid. And the workers are predominantly women”, especially in her sector among the workers she represents.

Increasing the minimum wage is an important step towards closing the income gap and creating a fairer economy. The federal government could take a leadership role and encourage the provinces to increase their standards, thus improving wages across Canada.

Indeed, in 2006, the Federal Labour Standards Review Commission recommended that the government reinstate the federal minimum wage and that it be benchmarked to the low-income cut-off established by Statistics Canada. The commission suggested that the minimum wage be high enough that someone working full time would not live below the poverty line.

What should fully engage this place is creating an economy where workers can make a living wage. That is the crux and the foundation of the debate we are having today. It is the question the government members must answer. Do they believe that in this economy, Canadian workers deserve a living wage? If they say yes, that Canadian workers deserve a minimum wage, a working wage, a living wage, they will support this motion.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Davenport spent a great deal of time talking about youth, youth unemployment, and unpaid internships. That is a very important area for us to discuss.

As we all know, the percentage of unemployed youth is much too high. It is important to note that our government recently committed $40 million for paid internship programs. We have done a number of different measures to actually try to support youth employment.

What I would like to focus on is that we know that there are going to be pluses and minuses in any minimum wage increase in any particular province. Have the NDP members looked at the impact in terms of youth unemployment? Have they done their homework to actually bring this message to the table?

Youth are incredibly important. The unemployment rate is a concern to all of us.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to say first is that given the importance of youth unemployment, the real question is why the government has not done its homework.

I would also like to note that it is true that the government did put some money into internships. That is important. I am glad to see that once in a while the government listens to the New Democratic Party of Canada, the official opposition. I thank the government for that.

On the subject of the minimum wage, of course we have done our homework, of course we have seen the data, and of course, the commission in 2006 recommended that the government establish a minimum wage. The body of research out there that shows that this works, that this is good, that this is important, and that this should be done is resounding.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, much has been said across the way about how we should be leaving this issue to the provinces.

When the Conservatives were running the province in Ontario, they froze the minimum wage for 12 long years. As a result, in my riding of York South—Weston, a by-election was fought in 2007 on the minimum wage. The NDP was successful in winning that seat in that by-election as a result of advocating for a $10 minimum wage.

Within a couple of weeks of that decision, the provincial government was forced to raise the minimum wage. Guess what. It was not a calamity. The sky did not fall in. Industry did not fall apart. The world as we knew it did not end. It went up.

It has not gone up far enough. I think that is part of what we are talking about.

There is a principle at stake here. I know it is difficult for the members opposite to understand what a principle is, but the principle is that the free market is not doing the job. The government pretends to be in favour of the free market, and then it introduces temporary foreign workers, it introduces EI rules that mean that people have to take lower wages, and it makes organizing harder.

The principle is that people should be able to earn a living wage. That is the principle we are standing for. Do you agree?

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The question is not whether I agree but rather whether the member for Davenport agrees.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for York South—Weston will likely not be surprised when he hears that I do agree.

Let us go back to youth unemployment for a second. If young people are watching this debate today, they are going to be hard-pressed to find anyone on the government side who really understands what they are going through.

If people are working in the telecom sector, if they are working for some of our Canadian companies, the Rogers and the Bells out there, they are going to be looking at this debate and saying “Yes, finally, someone is fighting for us in the House of Commons.”

That someone is the official opposition.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the hon. member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor.

We just heard talk of supporting the principles behind this member's motion. It is obvious to us in the Liberal Party that we should stand in support of those principles. We all understand that income inequality is one of the most challenging and volatile economic conditions we face in society today. I represent a riding very close to Davenport, and many of the issues that have been raised are poignant and personal to the residents and folks I represent.

We cannot create a strong middle class by continually cutting taxes for people of affluence and strong means to earn. The middle class is created with income support and with speaking to income equality. That is an important issue that the House should be seized with.

The problem we have in Trinity—Spadina is that it is not simply a matter of an hourly wage. We have a lot of people who work in the health care sector, and other federally regulated sectors as well, who require three jobs to earn a single salary. We can boost all the wages we want, but when employers are not providing the hours, the take-home pay at the end of the day does not change. That is an issue we struggle with as we try to figure out a way to create a more just society.

We also know that those same employers will pay what we want them to per hour but will cut employees' hours so that they can avoid paying them benefits. Simply talking about wage increases and the absence of a comprehensive strategy for income support and the eradication of poverty is a strong gesture, but in the end, it is only a symbolic gesture.

We will support this, but we think there needs to be much more work done on it.

In the past, when previous governments moved to tackle this issue, one of the things the opposition party used to remind others in Parliament was the fact that we needed to do this in concert with partners. Employers, labour unions, and the government need to work together on this. One of the challenges in the way this bill is being presented to us is that it is not a tripartite agreement. It does not consolidate the conversation and bring it forward as a consensus, and it does not bring it forward with reforms to other parts of the Canada Labour Code that the federal government and we in Parliament have carriage of.

I know that the member for Davenport has spoken with great eloquence about the need to deal with contract workers in the telecommunications and broadcast industries. In the riding I represent, where many of these businesses are centred, we know that contract work escapes the hourly wage. We are contracting out work that used to be done by people who were paid by the hour, such as editors and other technicians. Their contracted-out work rarely captures an hourly rate and is almost always bid on by the job.

Simply talking about minimum wage is not going to capture the industry as it is currently configured, nor is it going to solve the problem of income inequality, let alone the precarious nature of much of this work. Therefore, work needs to be done on this file, and it needs to be done comprehensively.

While we support this bill in principle, we are astonished at the lack of a comprehensive approach by the party that has presented it.

We also know that there is a trend emerging here, where symbolic gestures from one side of the House are met with empty gestures on the other side of the House. The EI premiums are a perfect example of this. We see strong statements being made, but when we get down to the details, it is simply an empty gesture or a symbolic gesture.

What we need is a comprehensive approach to income inequality, one that knits the various challenges into a comprehensive approach in partnership with everyone involved in this very challenging issue.

We also know that when we talk about $15 an hour, what we are not really capturing is the annual salary. The annual salary works out to about $31,000 a year. That is the problem. To many of us, $15 an hour sounds like five times what we used to earn when we were on minimum wage, but to try to support a family of four on $31,000, with or without income splitting, is impossible in places like Toronto. If we do not also have a housing policy, a national day care program, and all of these issues that are comprehensive and part of a knit-together approach to dealing with income inequality and poverty, what we are making are gestures and nothing but gestures.

This party will support this bill in principle, but we look forward to returning to a time when the tripartite agreement the opposition party spoke to in principle while it was the third party is also part of this comprehensive movement going forward.

What businesses were consulted? What sectors were consulted? We can rely on reports that are 10 years old all we want, but a new era requires new thinking and requires a new collaborative approach. That is the approach that the party I represent will be standing for and speaking toward. That is why I have spoken here today.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge and congratulate my colleague from Trinity—Spadina for what I believe is his first occasion to speak in the House, apart from question period. It is hard to disagree with the general thrust of his speech, other than to say that I think he may be missing the point when he says this is not a comprehensive approach. Individual pieces, when looked at with other individual pieces that are not up for debate in the same motion, can all add up to something very important.

Increasing minimum wage and having a universal child care program are two of the most significant measures, among many others that will be needed, to combat poverty and to combat the serious income equality that we all know is undermining our society. We have announced very clearly that everybody should be expecting a universal child care policy from us. We have heard about the federal minimum wage. I want to ask whether my hon. colleague from Trinity—Spadina will be demanding a universal child care policy too, going forward.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is without a doubt. Universal child care and making sure that child care is part of an employment strategy—but also a fundamental human right, I believe—is something that the party I belong to has believed in for a long time and is prepared to work on. Again, the issue may come down to who we consult with, how we deliver it and what provincial agreements are required to deliver that program. On that, hard work lies in front of us. If only we had accepted it the last time this Parliament dealt with a national child care program; if only we had supported that, imagine where our children would be today.

However, the issue I speak to and the issue my comments were directed at was that we need to knit this together. The example I highlighted was one from the telecommunications and broadcasting industry, a federally regulated program, where quite clearly the hourly rate has gone out the window and what we now have are individuals bidding on work and bidding on that work in a way that defies the hourly calculation. Therefore, this proposal, while in principle it deals with income inequality, does not deal with the actual working conditions people are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to welcome the member for Trinity—Spadina to the House. I am sure we will have a good year of debate forthcoming over a number of different issues.

What I would like to note of particular interest is that the Liberal government had many years, but the results for low income people are really coming in under our government. We have the lowest number. The low income cut-off level is down to 8.8%, the lowest in Canadian history. We have the working income tax benefit. We have measure after measure that have made a real difference in people's lives, such as lowering the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%.

However, I do want to note that it was the Liberals and the NDP who both supported the transition to going with the provincial rates. I have always believed that, for items like this, sometimes communities and even micro-communities are in the best position to make decisions about wages. Again I note the opposition flip-flop, but is the member really saying that he does not trust the provinces to be able to deal with this issue in a comprehensive and appropriate way?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I trust the provinces to respond in their jurisdictions as they see fit. What I do not trust is the current government's record on poverty.

The riding I represent has, within an hour's drive, more poor children living in it now than any other time in its history. There are more poor children living within an hour of City Hall in downtown Toronto than there are in the entire Maritimes combined. That is the record of the member's government. That is the record of a government that has walked away from this conversation and walked away from its responsibilities on housing, on child care, on income support.

The member's government, the government opposite, has had a deplorable record on dealing with poverty. Perhaps it is precisely because of the government's response to poverty that we have to step up and provide some leadership. That is why we will be supporting this bill, because this bill starts to speak to one of the pressing issues of our day, which is income inequality, and it has become decidedly worse, cruelly worse and unfairly worse under the leadership of the party across the aisle. The reason we have to provide this leadership is that, quite clearly, industries under federal regulation have changed and it is time for a new approach. We cannot be stuck in the past if we are trying to deal with the future.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues on this side of the House from the New Democratic Party bringing this forward for debate, because so far I am finding some very good themes put forward. I am certainly finding some good ways of addressing poverty. This is one of the elements that does that.

When we consider that minimum wage is an issue, primarily of provincial jurisdictions, there are two things that play here. I just want to talk about some of the elements of poverty reduction, income inequalities and what we can do to reduce that income inequality gap.

Some of the illustrations that have been put forward today talk about a wage that helps grow the middle class in such a way that it is good for the economy, social services and communities. It provides for local infrastructure, not just roads and bridges but recreation infrastructure as well, which is essential for any community, small or large. As my hon. colleague from Trinity—Spadina pointed out, there is a staggering number of poor children in his riding.

When we address federal minimum wage, we look at a small part of the population, but the narrative is one that is sound, which is to provide people who do good work in our country a livable wage, so they can provide for their families. Let us also tie in other elements to this. Let us look at better benefits. Let us look at social programs, such as child care. Let us look at other programs that we debate about and work toward in this place.

I will not zero in on the fact that there is a minuscule number of people affected here. For these people, it means the world. Let us expand this further as a step toward a better social progressive policy from which the country could benefit. We go back to the 60s and talk about the formation of the Canada pension plan and old age security. All these debates took place as a small step toward what we have right now. This is how we do it. We look at how we can illustrate the people affected by a minimum wage. We have people who require a minimum wage to live.

Nowadays prices are astronomical in many sectors of our economy. Let me just take one of those. That is energy. Right now in my riding, the average age is above 50. A lot of the families are above 50 or 60, and in some case above 70s. They own their own two-storey homes. For one couple, both 70 years old, it costs $1,400 per month to heat their home. That is an absolutely staggering figure. The fact that they have already paid the mortgage on that home allows them live in that house. Otherwise, it would not be affordable at all. Once food prices go up, then there will be real trouble.

Let us go from what they are going through to a younger couple in the same situation, with higher heat costs and higher prices for food. They need that base degree of social sincerity that we can only create here in policy that would allow them to make a good living. What we have is a situation where a minimum wage is one of those policies, in addition to other social measures like medicare and child care.

However, let us be careful, because one of the things we have been saying here is that we would love to have the minimum wage doubled in certain cases. In Newfoundland and Labrador it is $10 per hour. Twenty dollars an hour would be great, but here is the problem with that. I know people who run small businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador. I met a man just a while ago. I went to his convenience store and I asked him how he felt about the new minimum wage rules. He said that if the minimum wage were to go up any more he would not be able to hire a second person. He would pretty much have to work 16 hours a day. Therefore, let us look at both sides of this situation very closely and be very careful, because a small business person who pays that wage also has to make a living to contribute to that community.

Let us look at this particular policy and how we can grow the middle class and allow all of society to benefit from this. Many years ago we transferred this to the provinces. I understand what the other side is saying. Even though they are opposing this measure, they are only talking about provincial jurisdiction.

If we look at this particular wage, a study states that only 416 people earn the minimum wage of the province in which they work, so that is who would be affected by this. As I said earlier, that is a minuscule number of people, but the measure is one step toward what we feel is a greater society. We can improve our services and then we can get to other things such as child care, which I mentioned earlier.

The minimum wage rates across the provinces range, but the range is not really that great. It goes from $10 an hour in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories to a high of $11 per hour in Nunavut and Ontario, $10.72 in the Yukon and $10.70 in Manitoba. So that gives us the idea. We have a $1 variance, so across the country our provincial minimum wage structure is pretty much even across the board.

We have to strike the balance between what is acceptable to small business and what is an affordable wage. If I would come down on one side or the other, yes, I want an affordable wage. That was why the fight back in Newfoundland and Labrador, on the provincial side, was a long fight, but we went from just over $8 per hour up to about $10, which really people thought was a huge, significant increase at the time, but it really was not because there are a couple of things at play.

Let us factor in the costs of medicines. Let us factor in the costs of medical care that has to be paid for. If one person in a couple becomes sick with cancer, that person has to travel—at least where I come from, in a rural area—long distances to receive the treatment they need. That costs money. A lot of that is not covered under our current medicare regime. Therefore, the cost of living goes up that much. The $10 per hour that people were pleased to receive when it happened now becomes less significant. The vast majority of people receiving that minimum wage do not receive the right amount of benefits to subsidize the medical care that they so need. That is the other aspect of this.

I hope we will support this today as a step toward developing better progressive policies that we can present to the people. I am not using this as some 2015 election ploy. I am talking about the fact that we can come up with private members' bills, motions in the House and opposition day motions like we have today, and we can use this to present to the people and say as a Parliament of all parties that we have so much further to go when it comes to progressive policies. We can talk about the past all we want, but that is not really the right bridge to build upon in order to get better wages, in order to get better benefits for the most vulnerable in our society.

I appreciate the fact that some people oppose this and some people support it, but let us come up with decent arguments as to why or why not. When we look at some of the studies that have been done, we see that some of the prices out there now for some of the basic goods of individuals are really something. If we look at the size of a family in rural areas, we see that on this chart the before-tax 2011 level of a one-person family is $16,038 per year. As my hon. colleague from Trinity—Spadina pointed out, this minimum wage gives around $30,000 a year. Let us assume for a moment that they do not get the benefits of someone who is making twice that. Let us talk about a decent package of benefits for not just an individual but also a spouse or partner and children.

This is essentially the topic that is not addressed here, but it is something that we have to keep in play when it comes to this and when it comes to pensions, because I believe a higher wage is the first step toward a progressive policy for the impoverished. It is something that is woven within the fabric of everything we talk about that is to enable people. To me this is not an economic issue; it is an issue of basic living in this country for those who are most vulnerable, especially the people my colleague from Trinity—Spadina spoke about and those in my rural riding as well. I thank him for that.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing lots of numbers being thrown around today, and I am hearing this is not enough and this is not a comprehensive plan. However, let us take a look at it. What we are debating here is to raise the minimum wage to $15 for those that are regulated as well as employed in the federal sector.

My question for my Liberal colleagues and my colleague who just spoke very simply is this. Are they actually going to support this motion that is here before them?

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, yes.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to most of my hon. colleague's speech, but I missed the first part of it. I appreciate the candour that he brings to the House and the importance of this subject. We both come from similar areas where there are a lot of low-wage jobs. However, if we are to have this discussion, let us have an honest discussion about what minimum wage does.

There would be a handful of jobs affected if this federal minimum wage was put in place, so let us have a discussion about getting youth employed in our country, and it is not through the minimum wage. The minimum wage can be a disincentive for employers to hire youth.

Let us have an honest discussion of how we get youth employed and how we do something about internships, unpaid internships in particular. Let us not look at window dressing and in all honesty, the motion is window dressing.

Let us have this discussion. I would be happy to have it.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, window dressing or not, the windows still have to be dressed at the end of the day, and that is why I am supporting this. We all should support the motion.

Our leader has a policy for EI that would certainly bring youth into the system. I hope the member has had a chance to look that over and give it careful consideration. We are putting it out there for the Conservatives to enact, and by all means, we would applaud them for doing it.

The other thing the member mentioned, as I mentioned before, the motion represents a small number of people getting to that $15-an-hour mark, which I think is a great thing to do, phased in the way the NDP wants to do it. According to a study that was done, it would affect only 416 jobs. This maybe is window dressing, but it is certainly a gesture that is worth accepting.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will pick up on my colleague's last point.

During the debate, it is important to recognize that we are talking about a federal minimum wage. However, for the vast majority of individuals who are at a marginal wage rate, no matter where they live in Canada, it is primarily set by provincial governments.

People who might be watching should be thinking that if the motion were to pass, it would not change directly the wage of the person who is flipping hamburgers or providing a particular service at a minimum provincial rate. Depending on which province one is in, the minimum wage fluctuates for the vast majority. I would estimate 85% plus of the working population would be affected by the minimum wage set by provinces.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, as was mentioned earlier, the minimum wage rates range from $10 to $11 per hour, with $10 being the minimum wage for New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, and $11 an hour in both Nunavut and Ontario. This is the provincial jurisdiction.

One of the benefits of saying yes to the motion would be that we could illustrate that a $15 per hour minimum wage would be a noble thing to get to. However, let us also keep in mind that when it comes to small businesses, they have to be consulted. This is why the tripartite model in this situation would be a worthy exercise.

I do not know if that was addressed by the members in the party moving the motion. I hope they would agree with this tripartite way of dealing with something like this, including small business owners. It would be a responsible thing for them to do rather than just saying that we need to up the wage and whatever the business owners feel about, that is just too bad, it has to be paid.

I would hope this proposal would come with a great deal of respect. I may be blindfully optimistic, but I like to think that I support the motion for all the right reasons.

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past 35 years, 94% of the increase in income inequality happened under Liberal governments.

While that number is shocking, it is not surprising, considering that it was the Liberals who decided to get rid of the federal minimum wage.

Our southern neighbours have already set the path with the fight for the $15 movement that started back in 2012. Last summer, thousands of workers took to the streets to demand a decent salary. What came to light with these protests was that the people who earned minimum wage were not solely students who wanted extra money.

Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor, stipulates that these jobs are also a step into the workforce for immigrants, recent graduates, and many other people who can only find employment in these types of jobs. That situation was acknowledged by religious leaders, politicians, and community leaders. So far, the movement led a few cities, such as Seattle, to accept the race.

What the NDP is asking for is completely reasonable. We simply want people who work full time to earn a decent living.

Mr. Speaker, I forgot to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca.

I would like to read today's opposition motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should reinstate the federal minimum wage and increase it incrementally to $15 per hour over five years.

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but we believe that numbers speak for themselves, and there is no shortage of numbers to support the NDP's position. According to Statistics Canada, the weighted average minimum wage of all the provinces is $10.14 per hour. Accordingly, after working 40 hours a week, every week, an employee will earn the amazing annual salary of $21,000—before taxes, of course.

In 2013, in the province of Quebec, the average rent was about $700 a month. It will actually reach near $920 for the rest of the country. As for groceries, the average Canadian family spends approximately $400 a month, which is the equivalent of a weekly salary for a minimum wage paid employee, not to mention the cost of clothing, transportation, and electricity. I would also mention leisure, but at this point it is very improbable that there is any money left for enjoyment.

The poverty line in Quebec is $22,000 per year. What the Conservatives are telling us right now is that it is okay, it is normal even, for someone who works 40 hours every week to live below the poverty line. According to the Conservatives, it is normal for someone to have to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet.

In my riding, the problem is very serious. Food banks can no longer keep up with the demand. I hosted my annual barbecue last Sunday and many young people came out to eat hot dogs. What really saddened me was that at 3 or 4 p.m., at the end of the event, there was a line of young people asking for the leftover sausages and buns. What we are asking for is not for all Canadians. We are talking about employees under federal jurisdiction. Those people at least should be entitled to earn a decent living. This would affect private sectors under federal jurisdiction. This includes the transportation, broadcasting, banking and telecommunications sectors.

At this time, one-eighth of employees in these sectors under federal jurisdiction earn less than $15 an hour. A large proportion of them therefore live very close the poverty line. For a country like Canada, it is not too much to ask for a full-time worker to be able to live well above the poverty line.

The last years have not been painted with austerity. The government is constantly, or at least claims it is constantly, looking for ways to boost the economy. Here is one: correct the mistakes made by the past Liberal government and reinstate the federal minimum wage. The math simply needs to be done. An average day at work is about eight hours. That would be approximately $200 more per week in the pockets of employees, more money to spend on clothes, food, and activities. More purchasing power is good for the economy.

The NDP's position is in fact strongly supported by leading economists, many of whom are actually examining the impact of the minimum wage on employment. Nothing seems to indicate that an increase could have a negative impact on the labour market, especially if it is just a slight increase. We can therefore be reassured. A $5-increase over five years will not disrupt the Canadian economy, as the Conservatives are trying to claim today.

Employees who are very familiar with their company, with its policies, products and services, are knowledgeable employees. Training new workers takes time and costs money. In this light, raising the minimum wage can even improve productivity since it can help reduce the turnover rate. Along the same lines, employees who manage to provide for themselves with only one job have more energy for that job than those who need to have two or three other jobs.

The Conservatives will probably say that many small companies will go bankrupt or will face enormous difficulties if the minimum wage is increased because they will not be able to cope with employees' salaries. However, if we proceed on an incremental and moderate basis, these companies will have time to plan and adapt to that situation. Furthermore, most businesses that deal with federally regulated sectors are large businesses that can benefit from a degree of regulatory protection therefore they will be able to adjust to a gradual increase.

Canadians have spoken. They are opposed to blatant social inequalities, and they want people who work full time and pay taxes to be able to make a decent living.

One way to achieve this objective is to reinstate the federal minimum wage and to gradually bring it up to $15 per hour. The NDP has listened to Canadians; it is time the government did the same.

I would like to end my speech by once again quoting those who have supported us since we made this announcement. Sheila Block, an economist at Wellesley Institute, said: “Regular and predictable increases in the minimum wage will be good for workers and employers. Wages will no longer be eroded by inflation and increases will not be left to the uncertainty of political decisions”. Economists Nicole Fortin, David Green, Thomas Lemieux, Kevin Milligan and Craig Riddell also said that “minimum wages are particularly important as a wage floor for women and young workers.”

We are standing up for the people who have the hardest time finding work. In my riding, many people come to see me. I am fortunate to have an office in a building that also houses the local employment centre, the youth employment centre and the CEDC, which helps people write their resumés and get into the job market. The people who come to my office to ask for help are women and young people who cannot get a first job. Even if they do get one, they are being asked to work for ridiculously low wages.

Here is how the NDP sees it: people who get jobs will earn an income that is above the poverty line. These people will be able to reinvest in the economy. They will be able to work a single job. Instead of having two or three jobs and working weekdays, evenings and weekends, they will be able to look after their kids. These people will be able to get involved in their community and have a decent lifestyle.

It might be fine for a twenty-year-old student to earn a low hourly wage, but at 30, 40 or 50, people want a certain degree of comfort. That is what we are offering. I am very proud of my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, who moved this motion in the House today. It would be nice if all of the parties could see what this would bring to the Canadian economy and Canadians' quality of life.

I hope that we will have enough time to persuade our colleagues. This is the right thing to do, and I hope that we will succeed. There is no doubt that, when the NDP is in power, this is the kind of measure it will bring in.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus in our youth and on a fairly blunt instrument in achieving what the NDP is trying to achieve, while things like the working income tax benefit and other measures would be much more appropriate.

The NDP has certainly expressed concerns over the increase in unpaid internships, but there are studies out there. British Columbia amalgamated a number of different studies that happened over 30 years into one study. It indicated that as the minimum wage went up, the impact on youth was anywhere from a 6.9% to a 30% decrease in jobs. Therefore, this will significantly impact youth. The study also showed that the majority of those working in minimum wage jobs, over 80%, lived at home with their families.

What is the NDP suggesting we do about the profound impact that this would have on youth and the unemployment rate?

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question. We certainly want to help young people earn a decent wage on their first job.

My colleague spoke about youth employment. Surely it is not the only option, but it is better than creating a bunch of jobs and making young people work for $10 an hour. During our time here, the Conservatives have been giving visas to temporary foreign workers. This would be a good thing to talk about in terms of putting our young people to work.

We could open a dialogue to find the best ways to put young people to work. The hon. member mentioned unpaid internships, something the NDP has taken a position on. However, we are talking about linking decent wages to jobs under federal jurisdiction.That is what the issue is. I hope the young people working those jobs will earn a decent wage. That is my answer to my colleague.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member started off her comments, as many of her colleagues have done throughout the day, by saying that it was a mistake for the federal Liberal government back in the 1990s to get rid of the federal minimum wage. What the member does not tell people is that the New Democratic Party actually supported the government of the day, the Liberal Party in terms of getting rid of the minimum wage.

Is the member even aware of that fact? If she is, maybe she could tell us why at that time the NDP actually supported the Liberal party in getting rid of the minimum wage.

The other thing is that in Manitoba the minimum wage is at $10.45. The NDP have been in government there for over 14 years. I am wondering if the member believes that the NDP government in Manitoba should be looking at increasing its minimum wage to $15 an hour.

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

I did, indeed, know that, but does he know that the federal minimum wage was frozen at $4 an hour for 10 years? Instead of tackling the problem and increasing the minimum wage, the Liberals decided to get rid of it, as they often do.

I do not know why some NDP MPs voted for that. I was not around at that time. They voted to eliminate it because this ensured that minimum wages would go up. That is what happened. The government of the time should have realized that the $4 minimum wage needed to be raised. Eliminating the minimum wage instead of raising it was one way of hiding the problem. It is quite simple.

Procedure and House Affairs

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you shall find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be amended as follows: Mr. MacKenzie (Oxford) for Mr. Butt (Mississauga—Streetsville).